The Beginning of the Beginning
by aviyah.halpern
Summary: Akane is more than happy to jump on any opportunity to win some money—this time, all she has to do is date some guy called Nagito. How awesome is that? It'll be so easy! Nothing could possibly go wrong!


**Author's Notes:**

Hi everyone and welcome ~ :D This is my first DR story, and the first thing I've written in a really long time, but I hope y'all enjoy this all the same.

By far and away, Nagito is my favorite character of the series. So I was inspired to write this story when I thought, "what would it look like if he was paired up with someone who's his opposite?" The result is a pretty fun pair, I think. And it helps that Akane's so great, too; I love that she's such a shounen anime protag. XD

This story takes place in an AU where everyone goes to school at Hope's Peak like normal. No tragedies or Ultimate Despair or the like.

No content warnings for this story, by the way. :)

* * *

It was another balmy afternoon at Hope's Peak Academy, with classes already finished for the day. In one particular classroom was Akane Owari, currently in the middle of cleanup duty for the day, along with a few of the other girls in her class.

Now, Akane was not normally a person who bothered with other peoples' conversations. People talked about all kinds of stuff all the time—stuff she couldn't care less about—so why waste energy butting into other peoples' business?

Sometimes, however...

"Ew! Gross! I wouldn't date Nagito even if you paid me to!" cried out Hiyoko's high-pitched voice.

Sometimes, other peoples' business involved money, and money made _any_ conversation worth listening to. Akane paused her movements and focused in on Hiyoko's conversation.

"Whaaaat!?" Ibuki replied, melodramatically. "Not even for ten thousand yen?"

"No!" Hiyoko answered, affronted.

"How about twenty thousand?"

"_No!_"

"Urrgh! Hiyoko drives a hard bargain! Th-thirty thousand! That's my final offer!"

"Hell no! Cut it out already, you stupid goat turd!"

The insult barely left Hiyoko's mouth when Akane dropped in, wearing a determined grin. "Hey! How bout me? I want in on this!"

"Oh my my my! Akane joins the Human Dating Auction? What a twist!" Ibuki said, bending over with a hand over her eyes, as though she were looking out.

"Hell yeah! All I gotta do is a date a dude, right?"

"That's riiiight~!" Ibuki cast a quick glance at the other two girls before raising her arm. "Going once, going twice—sold! One date with Nagito Komaeda for thirty thousand yen goes to the lady in white!"

"All _right!_ You're on!"

"Yay~!" Using both hands, Ibuki pointed at Hiyoko. "This message has been brought to you by the Saionji Foundation!"

Hiyoko sputtered. "Buh—uh—_what!?_ I never agreed to that!"

But Akane was already long gone.

* * *

Seeing that Akane had no freaking clue where Nagito was right now, she relied on the most reliable method possible to find him: she ran through the school and checked every single room she passed by. Hell, she even called out for him in the bathrooms—both kinds.

It was taking her way longer than she wanted to—she had already checked two floors' worth of rooms! Eventually, she reached the library, slightly breathless. "Hey!" she shouted, slamming the door open. Most of the seats in that large room were taken, and each of their occupants shot her a dirty look. "Is Nagito Komaeda in here!?"

She was met with utter silence. After waiting for a second, she turned to leave, when she heard a quiet, raspy voice say, "Akane?"

She turned back around and saw a boy with crazy-looking white hair send her a curious look—he was standing between two rows of bookshelves. Akane bounded over to him. "Are you Nagito Komaeda?"

The boy's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before his face smoothed into a cheery smile. "Ah, you really don't know me, do you? Even though we're in the same class…"

"What!? Seriously?" She folded her arms and looked downwards, trying to remember everyone who sat in the classroom with her. There was Coach Nekomaru, Fuyuhiko, Peko—oh! Behind Peko, there was a weird quiet guy, right? Didn't really speak up or stand out… was he the same person as the one in front of her now?

A light, breathy laugh interrupted her thoughts, and she looked back up at the boy. "Don't worry about it! Actually, I feel flattered! Having to share a room, almost every day, with a festering pile of garbage like me—I always thought that maybe I'd plague your thoughts too much! But now I see—the fact is, I'm actually a forgettable person." He held out both of his hands, and his smile turned just a touch manic. "I feel like I've been promoted!"

"Uh." Akane felt the gears in her mind come to a grinding halt, and she fixed the boy with a shocked look. "... Are you smack talking yourself?"

"Well, I—"

"Wait a second. I just remembered, I don't care." She straightened up, and her face turned serious. "Are you Nagito or not?"

"Yes, that's me." His smile lost that manic edge from earlier.

"Great! So, go on a date with me?"

And now his smile was lost altogether, replaced with surprise. For all the things his luck had ever prepared him for in life… _this?_ Being asked out by someone? By an _Ultimate?_ … Who apparently didn't even know he existed until a minute ago?

"Uh, hello?" Akane waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his shock.

"Ah! Yes. Well. I know it's impertinent of trash like me to question the thoughts of you, an Ult—"

"Get to the point!"

Nagito's shoulders gave a small jolt, but he nodded and obeyed all the same: "Why?"

"Ugh." Akane deflated and took a moment to pick her ear with a pinky; she really wished she could end this conversation already, it was taking way too long just to see if she'd get that date or not. "Hiyoko promised that she'd pay me thirty thousand yen if I went on a date with you."

"Oh! That makes sense." Nagito's cheery smile slid back into place, and he crossed his arms across his chest. "Anything for an Ultimate! I don't mind going… out… with you." As he continued talking, his hands slid up to hug his arms, and his face gained a heated, faraway look.

"Great! Then how about… this Saturday at one? We can, uh…" She scrabbled around in her mind, trying to figure out where people even went for dates. "... Meet at the mall, I guess."

"That sounds fine."

"Awesome! Then, see ya around!" Akane turned and took a few paces forward, before she realized something; she turned around and leveled Nagito with her most serious look yet. "By the way—I'm not splitting any of the prize money with you."

* * *

The time came for their date, and as Akane walked toward the mall, she cursed herself. That place was huge—it wasn't even just one building! So, even though they agreed to meet up there, she became very suddenly aware: they should've been more specific. And they didn't trade phone numbers, either… what should she do? Did she need to start running up to all the stores and call out for him in order to find him?

… Well, it couldn't be helped. She finally reached the nearest storefront, and took a deep breath, getting ready for a good workout. But, before she did that, she decided to take a quick look around outside, just in case.

Her eyes caught on that distinct mop of hair, and she let out a sigh of relief. They made eye contact, and then Nagito picked up his pace and headed toward her. He was, once again, wearing that calm and cheery smile, and there was a note of breathlessness in his voice as he greeted her. "Good afternoon," he said.

"Hey there! I'm glad we ran into each other. I thought I'd have to start running around the whole mall lookin' for ya!"

"Ah, yes. We never specified where to meet, did we? And you couldn't have messaged me, either…"

"Nope! It's lucky we ran into each other first thing, huh?"

Nagito didn't have an immediate reply to that, though his smile faltered for a moment. Idly, he thought to himself that Akane probably also forgot his talent—though it was certainly worth forgetting.

"Anyway," she barreled on, "what do we do now?"

"... Huh?"

"You know—for our date. I've never been on one before, so… I don't have a clue."

"Ah. I've never been on a date before either…" Nagito placed a finger on his chin as his eyes slid downward, looking thoughtful. "Well. I believe the typical date is dinner and a movie, right? Though, if we ate now, it'd be lunch and a movie…"

The moment he mentioned food, Akane felt her stomach rumble. "Lunch and a movie? So, if we do that, that'll count, right?" Though if she were being honest, Akane wouldn't mind forgoing the movie part, and just doing lunch and dinner instead…

"Yeah, I'd say that counts."

"All right! Let's go!" she called out with a fist pump, and immediately started walking, leading them to one of her favorite buffets.

Akane took a brisk pace to get there, and even though he didn't complain about it, she noticed that Nagito had a little trouble keeping up with her. Was he feeling all right? She knew she moved faster than most other people did, but she didn't think it was _that_ fast.

All those worries flew out of her mind the moment she opened the doors to the restaurant, though, and she took a moment to enjoy the thick scent of food washing over her. Before long, they were both seated at a booth, with plates full of food. For herself, Akane picked up some meat, with some rice, and some meat, along with vegetables, and some meat, and fish, and some meat, and some more meat… her meal was spread across multiple plates, so she walked back to the table holding one plate in each hand, balancing more of them along her outstretched arms, and even carrying one each on top of her head and in her teeth. The sight was both a testament to her talent, as well as to how often she visited this place—none of the staff made a move to stop her.

Nagito, in the meantime, had a single plate. It held a single fish filet, and a single serving of steamed vegetables.

"Dude," Akane said between mouthfuls, already halfway through her second plate. "What's with that lunch? It's barely anything!"

"Well, I guess I'm just not very hungry," Nagito answered. He still looked cheery, as he barely picked at his small meal, and somehow the sight of that felt off to Akane.

"How could you not be hungry? You're so scrawny, just looking at you makes me hungrier!"

Nagito looked apologetic and set his fork down. "Sorry about that. I know that I look unsightly, and it must be ruining your meal… I can go outside and wait for you to finish lunch, if you'd like."

What the hell!? Why was he offering to leave, when he should be eating? Akane frowned at him and said, "dude, what're you even on about? Just eat!" She glanced down at his paltry meal, and her frown deepened. "And eat more than just that! You're all skin and bones."

Nagito gave her a long, confused look, as though he'd suddenly forgotten how to understand words. "Akane, are you all right? You're being so persistent about this, almost as though you're worried about me..." He straightened back up and smiled at her. "I know that can't be the case, but if it eases your mind at all, then I'd like you to know that I'm fine! Really, don't mind me at all!"

"Oh yeah? Is that so?" She didn't look the least bit convinced, and was already ready to end this conversation. On impulse, she decided to settle the matter of how "fine" Nagito really was in the quickest way she could think of; she jolted forward, leaned over the table, reached out—and then yanked his shirt up, revealing his ghostly pale torso.

She almost regretted that she did it. Even though she'd never seen Nagito shirtless before, the sight before her was too painfully familiar. His body didn't seem to carry even an ounce of fat; she could clearly make out the ridges of his ribs, the contours of his weak muscles.

The silence felt heavy as she let his shirt fall back down, and she settled back into her seat. Nagito, for his part, did not appear terribly self-conscious about what just happened. Instead, his eyes followed Akane's movements, full of concern. "Akane…?" he asked.

She snapped back to her senses. "That settles it. Once you're done eating that, you're gonna go and grab yourself another plate full of food."

"Honestly, there's no need—"

"You either eat your lunch, or I'm gonna punch it down your throat." She cracked her knuckles, her patience already long gone.

"Ah, to have such a talented, hopeful per—"

"_Nagito._"

Her glare was so fierce, Nagito felt like it burned his skin, and anything else he was about to say vanished. His eyes widened, he nodded, and then he picked up his fork and continued eating, completely silent.

People were staring at them, and would continue to give them funny looks as they continued eating. Nagito ate his meal (including the second serving) with the focus of a surgeon, while Akane carelessly slurped and munched so loudly that it was hard to imagine she wasn't doing it on purpose. Still, despite the apparent awkwardness, the pair finished lunch without further incident.

Afterwards, they went to the movie theater, stopping near the entrance and looking over the posters, to see which one they should pick.

It didn't take Akane very long to latch onto her choice. "Let's do _Gun Sword 5: The Gun That Shoots Axes_!" she called out, pointing to its poster.

"Ah…" It was hard to miss the way Nagito's smile wavered then. "Well, if that's you want!"

"What kind of half-assed answer is that?" She stared at him with a serious look. "You don't wanna see it?"

"Well… that is to say…"

Akane let out a frustrated groan, effectively cutting off his stammering. "Dude, it ain't gonna be fun if you're not into it." And even though her primary goal in going on this date was to win some money, she still wanted to try and have some fun while she was out here.

"Ah… if you say so."

"What do you wanna see?"

Nagito perked up and looked over the posters. He pointed at a mystery movie titled _Mahogany_; its poster pictured a fancy office desk that held a single streak of blood across the top. "How about that one?"

Akane's shoulders slumped. "I dunno… it looks kinda boring."

"Then… maybe that one?" He pointed to another poster, this one for a documentary, which pictured the interior of an empty subway car.

"Eh…" She appeared even more disinterested now.

Nagito frowned. If she didn't like mysteries or documentaries… well, he supposed he could enjoy most of the movies on offer here, even if they weren't his top choice. He randomly picked out another one: a horror movie called _Black River_, with an image of a dark creek that had an even darker river running through it. "This one, then?"

She instantly straightened out, eyes wide and skin pale. "Seriously? I mean—" she fixed him with a glare—"are you tryin' to mess with me? Think I can't handle it?"

"Er." Nagito froze; what was with her reaction? He didn't have a clue how to read it.

It turned out that he wouldn't need to, though—Akane already grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him to the ticket machine. "It's on, dude. I'll show you that I can watch it just fine!"

"Yeah… all right." She seemed fired up about watching that movie. So it was good, right? He made the right choice… right?

* * *

It was an awful choice—at least for Akane, it was terrible. She had to stand proud! She couldn't have any weaknesses! But even still, every time the monster swam closer, every time a person got near the river, she couldn't stop her shaking from getting worse, or quell the ever-increasing terror she felt. She brought some food to her seat—which got polished off within the first twenty minutes—and for once, she almost regretted eating it, considering how it seemed eager to come back up.

What made things even worse was Nagito—he sat still through the whole thing. Didn't look the least bit scared. Every time Akane glanced his way through the corner of her eye, there was something a little tempting about him—something that made him look like solid ground for her leaping heart to find purchase on. And she wasn't oblivious to the few other couples in the room, huddled together, looking so secure… they were all on a date here too, just like her, right?

But every time she found herself even remotely drifting in Nagito's direction, she straightened herself back up, eyes on the movie, fists clenched, and her shaking reigned in by sheer force of will. She wasn't scared! She couldn't have anyone thinking she was weak—because she wasn't!

Once the credits finally started rolling, she was so tense, she was practically frozen in place. _Whew. It's over, _she thought._ We can le—shit!_ She jolted—was that a ghost?!—Wait, no, that was Nagito.

Nagito, who had just leaned slightly towards her, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Are you all right?"

"Wh—of course I am! Are you? You don't look so good! Pale as a gh-ghost!"

Nagito glanced himself over with a thoughtful look. "...I'm pretty sure this is how I always look. Anyway, I was just asking if you were ready to head out. Though, if you need a few minutes…" He hadn't been paying much attention to Akane, since he kept his focus on the movie, but finally, it dawned on him… was she actually scared by it? Ah, now it made sense—her strange reactions this whole time, it was because she was testing her courage! How hopeful!

"No way! Let's go! I'm all ready!" Unaware of how loudly that came out, she swiftly stood up and began to maneuver towards the aisle. Even if she were weak enough to accept waiting for a few minutes to catch her breath, she was fairly certain that there was no way she'd actually be able to calm down inside this dim theater, that was playing such eerie music over the credits.

Nagito smiled at her, even though he was facing her back, before taking care of the trash she left behind and heading out with her.

Once they were outside the theater, Akane took the opportunity to hang out nearby, stretching out her arms and fully enjoying the feeling of the sun on her. It was so bright and warm—she could feel her fright quickly start to dissolve. Nagito leaned against the wall next to her, looking out over the passers-by, with his hands in his pockets… looking completely calm and collected.

There was no way he wasn't scared, right? Akane felt like she had to ruffle him at least a little bit—she didn't want to be the only one of the two who got bent out of shape. "So, what'd you think? I bet you were shaking in your shoes!" She was sure it had to be the case, even if she couldn't see it.

"Well… not exactly," he said, with that thoughtful look that Akane was quickly starting see was commonplace for him. "I can't say I found it scary at all, to be honest."

"Seriously?! Not even a little?"

"Not even a little," he answered, smiling.

"But how could you not have been scared? Even a little bit! I—uh, I saw like everyone else in the theater look totally freaked out!"

"Really? I can't say I was paying attention." He took a few moments to think about her question before that usual breezy smile slid back onto his face. "But I guess you could say that I wasn't scared because I already feel fear every day of my life! The monsters in a movie could hardly stand up to that."

"Wh… are you serious?" She took a step back, the shock on her face clear. "Every day? There's no way!"

"I understand that it's hard to believe, but it's true."

"But you're always smilin' like it's nothing! You gotta be lying."

Nagito's demeanor seemed to mellow a little, as his smile shrunk and he placed his hands back in his pockets. "It's up to you to believe me—I'd understand if you didn't."

"Ugh…" She calmed down, and gave him a quick once-over, before letting out a sigh. "Naw, I believe you. It doesn't sound real, but my gut's telling me that you're being honest."

"Ha ha, I feel relieved to hear you say that."

"But still! I don't get it!" And she honestly didn't—she was scared enough of just watching that movie, but if she had to live it every day—she didn't know what she'd do! "You're scared for your life all the time, but you just keep smilin' like it's nothing! That's… that's fucking metal!"

Once again, his smile dropped, and Nagito looked at her with complete surprise. "Er, excuse me?"

"You're metal! Ya' know—tough!"

"No, I understand, just…" He raised a hand to the back of his head, unsure. "I don't think that sort of thing—that a guy like me—warrants that sort of praise. Especially not from an Ultimate."

She clicked her tongue, frustrated. "Dude, what's with you? I said something nice, just take it!"

"All right, all right!" He raised his arms in mock surrender, eyes still wide, and his heart rate a little faster. "I accept your compliment."

"Good!" She finally smiled, pleased.

It took him a few minutes before he fully realized what just happened—that an Ultimate actually gave him an honest compliment. And he actually accepted it. Akane could be quite aggressive, couldn't she? And for the sake of trash like himself… Nagito ducked his head down to hide the redness he could feel on his cheeks. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Don't mention it," she breezily answered, with a casual flick of the wrist. "Anyway, we're done here, right? We officially had a date!"

"... yeah." Nagito tilted his head down even farther, feeling his ears start to turn red. She didn't sound disgusted at all…

"Awesome! Then, I'm gonna head back to school. See ya!"

"Wait! I mean—ah, well." He took a breath. "I'm heading back, too. So, if you don't mind… if we walk together..."

"Yeah, that's fine," Akane said, shrugging her shoulder—she honestly didn't care either way.

With that, the two of them began heading back to Hope's Peak. After a few minutes of walking in companionable silence, however, they were interrupted—someone had been running down the sidewalk and crashed into them from behind, falling over.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Akane yelled, effortlessly maintaining her balance. "Er… wait a second…" The person who had ran into them was hunched over on the ground, so she couldn't see their face—but they had crazy white hair, and a dark green jacket. She blinked a few times, letting her brain process things. Then she turned to her side and saw Nagito, who was getting back to his feet, wincing as he rubbed his arm.

… Did Nagito have a twin? She turned forward again, just as the mystery person was also righting themself… they looked up, and—okay, that had to be the most wrinkled face she'd ever seen on a man! The guy looked like a prune!

… And now the guy was already running off, without even saying a word. Huh. Weird.

"Hey Nagito," Akane said, turning to the boy at her side. "That your grandpa or something?"

"Not at all. I can't say I've ever seen him my whole life."

"Huh. What a coinci—"

"Stop right there!" A strong masculine voice called out to them from behind; they turned around to see two police officers standing behind them.

"It's no use running away; you're coming with us," the other officer said.

"Just what's going on?" Akane asked, feeling her muscles tense and adrenaline start to kick in. Here was a situation that she was all too familiar with—although she knew she didn't do anything wrong today.

"Please, step away from the scene, miss," said the officer on the right. "This man just robbed a jewelry store—he is known to be armed and dangerous."

"Seriously!?" she asked, feeling shocked. Then she turned to Nagito, asking, "You seriously robbed a jewelry store?"

"No!" Nagito answered, holding up his hands in placation. Despite his usual patience in dealing with the Ultimates, even he felt a little staggered at Akane's denseness. "We were together the whole day, remember? I couldn't have possibly robbed any stores… it was probably that man who just ran by us."

"A likely story," one of the officers said, taking a step forward. "Long wavy white hair that sticks out all over, and a long, dark green coat… you're saying that someone else who matches that exact description just _happened_ to pass by now?"

The second one also stepped forward and added, "And, you're saying that you actually spent the whole day with this young woman, but she just didn't realize you were innocent? Nice try."

"Ah, ha ha…" Nagito said, back with that calm smile, looking a little sheepish, the surrender clear in his voice. "It's pretty unbelievable, isn't it?"

He was already thinking of whether he could talk and pay his way out of being detained, and how much it'd cost, when he felt a hand on his wrist. He turned around in time to see that it was Akane, who was already turning away. "Come on!" she urged, and that was all the warning he got before she broke into a full run, pulling him along. They sped down the street, opposite from the officers, and the last thing they heard was the cops calling for backup before they, too, broke into a run and gave chase.

Akane was all adrenaline, instinct, and pure speed, as she ran down the road, weaving between people and looking for any opening. Storefronts, cars, other people, lampposts, _everything_—it all became a blur of colors to the pair, and suddenly everything in the world could only be categorized as open air, or as an obstacle. While Akane led them along, Nagito could only focus on avoiding knocking into anything—but soon enough, his breaths started to feel painful, his legs numb, Akane's grip around the bones of his wrist hurt, and his arm that was being pulled on felt like it was going to be yanked out of the socket…

"There!" Akane called out, and Nagito had zero capability to look ahead at what she meant—all he could do was get pulled along, harshly to the side, as she dove between two stores. A few more paces, and he suddenly felt himself pulled in the opposite side, as she moved behind the store—he could feel her start to ease up, and that seemed to send a hard signal to his body to shut everything down.

"Ah—Aga—" he wheezed out, feeling his feet slow down involuntarily.

"Wha…" Akane finally stopped and let go of his arm; she watched as Nagito also stopped, leaning forward to rest his hands on his legs, but instead he ended up gracelessly crumpling to the ground. As he laid there, he took deep breaths, which sounded loud, painful, and thoroughly ragged.

"_Haaa… haaa…_" The usual raspiness of his voice became amplified tenfold, it sounded like every breath was being torn from his lungs—even Akane could tell there was something seriously wrong.

"Hey… are you all right?" she asked, crouching down near him. She still didn't feel safe here—but she hadn't heard the officers' pursuit for a minute or so, so it looked like now was as good a time as any to collect themselves.

"_Haa… … haa…_" Nagito was still curled up on the ground, with his eyes scrunched shut, his skin completely flushed and sweaty, and his heartbeat pounding in his ears. After a few long moments, his breathing started to get quieter, more even. Finally, he opened his eyes, and somewhere behind Akane's sideways form, he noticed a dumpster. Idly, he thought to himself how he'd love nothing more than to crawl in there and die.

A couple minutes later, Nagito sat up, his breathing now under control. "I… I'll be fine," he said, sounding worn out.

"Good. Now come on, we gotta get a move on."

Nagito appeared incredibly distraught at that—though he didn't realize it himself. And although his instincts were telling him that he was through and that he should stop now, he couldn't say no to an Ultimate. "If you say so…"

Akane clicked her tongue, annoyed. He looked so weak and pathetic like this! She couldn't exactly hold it against him—but all the same, they were in a difficult situation right now, and it was becoming clear that he couldn't power himself out of it. What could they do…

It only took a moment for her to think of it, and then Akane suddenly turned around, facing her back to Nagito while beckoning him closer with a hand. "Come on, grab on. I'll carry you out."

"Ah!" She couldn't see it, but the flush on his face that had been steadily waning came back in full force, and his heart started racing again. "I—I couldn't! To touch—no, to actually _hold on _to an Ultimate like you—a-and, you're a girl!"

"So what? I don't care! We gotta get a move on already—unless you wanna get caught?" And as though on cue, she could hear the sound of people running—it was the very distinct pattern that she'd subconsciously come to associate with police officers chasing her. It was still too far for Nagito to hear, but dammit, they really didn't have any more time!

Nagito, for his part, was carefully considering his options. To touch an Ultimate (and a girl) was pure sacrilege! Well, sure, he knew he'd find it a pleasant experience, as filthy as his mind was—but even trash like himself knew where he stood, and taking Akane's offer was out of the question! On the other hand, if he was detained now—especially since he ran away instead of getting arrested peacefully—then they probably wouldn't let him go before Monday. Even though he knew he shouldn't be so selfish, he really didn't want to miss a single day at Hope's Peak, breathing the same air as his amazing, talented, hopeful classmates…

The sound of running swiftly got closer, and Akane cursed to herself. "Do it now, or else I'm leaving your ass behind!"

"Right!" Like that, all of his careful thinking flew out of his head, and his body reflexively followed her orders. Nagito pressed himself against Akane's back, resting his arms over her shoulders and clasping them against her collarbone, while she stood up, lifting his feet off the ground, holding his legs tight against her sides.

Finally, they could both hear police coming in from behind them, rounding the corner—"There you are!" they could hear one shout. Another quick curse under her breath, and Akane was off, with Nagito in tow.

She maneuvered behind the buildings, effortlessly turning corners and sprinting forward, until she finally emerged back out to the open streets. People gasped at the sight—seeing a laser-focused girl fly out from a dark alley, carrying a tall and awkward boy on her back—and stepped back, unintentionally forming a path for Akane to run. The police soon emerged from the alley as well, still in hot pursuit, and a quick glance over her shoulder told her that now there were more of them on her tail. She dove between another set of buildings, back into a shady maze of slightly smelly alleyways, and set her mind on the goal: she needed to get back to Hope's Peak. If she could get them both there without getting caught, then she knew they were home free.

After some more sprinting and weaving, Akane turned a corner, and—_dammit_, she came face-to-face with a chain-link fence, forcing her to pull a hard stop. Of all the places—_of course_ the route she picked would be the one that was blocked off! She took a deep breath and straightened herself back up; Nagito's breaths felt stuffy against her neck, his whole form was hot against her back, and she could feel herself start to sweat more than usual.

She shook off her discomfort, and stepped up to the fence—even though she hadn't turned back to get a visual on their pursuers, she just _knew _that the other ways out would already be blocked—they'd have to scale the fence. "Hey Nagito, wrap your legs up for a few, I gotta climb." She felt him nod against the back of her head, while he lifted his shins and crossed them across her front. At the very least, Akane was a little pleased that he was finally following her orders without so much damn _talking_.

Nagito, in the meantime, could feel his heart pounding, his blood rushing, all of his senses alert and clear… he felt _thrilled_. He felt panicked. Why was that? His rotten luck made him used to ridiculous, dangerous situations, to the point where he was normally unaffected by them… he threw a quick glance down, catching sight of Akane's focused and determined face while she climbed, and he smiled. Of course, that must be it—getting to experience firsthand the depth of an Ultimate talent! Getting to witness for himself the way her strength, her _hope_, would overcome this trial! How could he not get swept up in the moment under these circumstances?

He perked up and glanced behind them, and felt his heart skip—"They're coming, I can see them!"

"Yeah, I know." She had already heard them nearby.

"Do you think you can make it?" The police were coming in full speed, and even though Akane and Nagito were near the top of the fence, they were still effectively stuck in one place.

"Shut up and watch!" She scrambled upward until they were at the end, then with a big breath and final push against the fence, managed to swing up and balance them on top. Another great leap, and Akane grabbed onto the nearest rooftop, then heaved and pulled until they were on the roof. She barely avoided getting either of them grabbed by the police, who were now grouped up near the fence below, some of them starting to climb up.

"Amazing! I wouldn't expect any less from the Ultimate Gymnast!" The end of that sentence sounded bumpy, as Akane had already grabbed hold of his legs and started running again.

"Heh! Damn right!" Akane huffed between breaths, with a smug smile on her face.

She'd been chased by the police enough that, by instinct, she was familiar with how things played out now. As fast and strong as the police may be, they couldn't maneuver the cityscape like she could; the ones who had climbed after her would soon give up the chase via rooftop. Instead, they'd start calling more officers to the ground below, trying to surround them. She'd have to find a safe place to touch down on the ground again, but until then, it'd be smooth sailing, straight to Hope's Peak!

… Except, of course, that it wouldn't.

Akane covered a lot of distance, running, jumping, and climbing rooftop after rooftop; but suddenly, just as she was in the middle of sprinting across a particularly large one—_CRACK!_ The sound of snapping wood resounded in both pairs of ears, and suddenly, they could feel themselves descend. They fell through the air, which was thick and warm, and—Akane's heart leapt into her throat at the sight below—they were about to land on the edge of a bath. She held her breath, swung her legs under herself, and held onto Nagito tight—_SPLOOSH!_ She felt her skin break the surface of hot water, which felt hard due to the speed they were going; but at least the water meant that her feet made a soft landing on the floor of the bath, and she felt the both of them become completely submerged for a moment.

Akane felt Nagito drift out of her grasp, as she pushed her upper body up through the surface of the water; her hair, her clothes, her _movement_, all soaked and weighed down. She gasped when she caught sight of how close the hard, tiled edge of the bath was to her face—if she hadn't tucked her legs in in time, they would've smashed against the ground! She probably would've broken her legs then and there!

She took another deep breath in, and then the rest of her surroundings hit her: the sound of high-pitched screaming assaulted her ears, and she realized she was in the middle of the women's section of a public bath—and it was most definitely occupied right now, with naked women running around screaming.

Then a quieter, closer, and certainly more distressing sound reached her ears—Nagito! She turned and saw him flailing in the water behind her, clutching his throat and taking desperate, shallow breaths. He must have been choking on water—immediately, Akane gave him a few solid thumps on the back. He let out a strangled cough, which was then followed up with an alternating series of loud coughs that seemed to shake his whole body, and deep wheezes for air.

"Hey, Nagito," Akane said, deliberately keeping her voice calm, while she held him by the shoulders. "You okay?" He felt unsteady in her hands, and his whole body trembled, as he focused on quieting his coughs and controlling his breathing; she tightened her grip, to make sure he wouldn't fall into the water. In the meantime, the sounds of yelling and panic didn't ease up at all—in fact, they were now joined by the sounds of women _lecturing_ Nagito and Akane for intruding and breaking the roof. Akane could feel her ears twitch and pound to the rhythm of all the voices, and by the way Nagito flinched to the same rhythm, she could tell he was suffering from it as much as she was.

Akane wanted nothing more than to chase off all these noisy people, but she forced herself to keep her eyes trained on Nagito, making sure he was okay. After a few more long, drawn moments of coughing and wheezing, he managed to stabilize his breathing, and finally he opened his eyes and looked at Akane; it shot a pang straight through her heart. It looked like someone tried to drown a puppy—his eyes were so worn (and a little dazed), his body was weak, his sopping wet hair stuck to his face, and his heavy, soaked jacket seemed like it was trying to pull him back down, under the water.

"Yeah—I'm fine," he finally answered, and even though his voice was hoarse, and even though he looked a little dazed from overwhelmed senses, the statement came out surprisingly firmly.

Akane gave a short nod at that. "C'mon then. Let's get outta here."

Akane glared at the women nearby who were yelling at them and successfully shooed them away, before climbing out of the bath, and then helping Nagito out as well. She focused on taking deep breaths, willing her worn and shaken body to feel fresh enough to start running again soon. Nagito, in the meantime, was completely flushed—mostly due to the fact that he finally realized where they were and exactly how many naked women were around them—and his focus was purely on wringing out the water from the tail of his jacket; the heavy sounds of water splashing against tile were oddly satisfying. As she steadied herself, Akane noticed some caution tape and warning signs nearby. Apparently, the particular bath they'd just fallen into was temporarily closed off… due to the roof above it being broken. Was that… _serious?_ Of all the rooftops she'd been running on—!

"Stop right there!" Nagito and Akane both gasped as another pair of cops burst in through the front of the bath. Then, in one fluid motion, she crouched and turned her back to Nagito. He caught on immediately, grabbing on again, and then they were off.

With a voice that was still raspier than normal, Nagito said, "I saw a door in the backside. Er, wait—I mean, I saw her backdoor. I mean—" The red wasn't leaving his face anytime soon, and he dug his nose against the back of Akane's head for a few moments, burying his stammering in her hair.

Still, it was more than enough direction, and Akane headed for the back—and there it was, a door marked for employees only. She barreled through, ran down the hall, and then pushed through the fire exit—ah shit, the alarm went off. Oh well! Not her problem!

Thankfully, they'd just barely made it out the back of the bathhouse before the police swarmed it, and Akane was able to freely take to the streets again—though she could see that the cops were still after them. Hope's Peak was getting closer though—she just had to keep going! They were so close, the streets were looking much more familiar. Nagito perked up for a moment as they passed a particular intersection; there was something odd he had just remembered…

Before he could think of mentioning it to Akane, he noticed where they were heading—straight for a construction site. "Akane, look out—you're running into a construction zone!"

"Yeah, so? I've run through these places a million times!" She paused to take a few breaths—even she was starting to feel exhaustion by this point. "After all the shit we just went through—don't tell me you're gonna chicken out now!"

"I—I'm not!" Nagito frowned and held on tighter. "If you're sure…"

"Damn right!"

She was right that it seemed weird for Nagito to express hesitation now, after everything they just experienced. Maybe it was _because_ they'd experienced so much misfortune already, or maybe the initial thrill wore off, or maybe it was something else—Nagito wasn't sure—but he felt his adrenaline spike up even more, and his insides felt like electricity. Suddenly he envisioned, in disturbing detail, all the ways that Akane could get hurt or killed in that site, and it made his blood pump so fast that he felt like he'd pass out. What _was_ the emotion he was feeling now? Excitement? Anxiety?

All those thoughts got squashed out of his mind as Akane crossed the threshold into the construction site, and he braced himself for the worst. No one else was near the entrance, but there was plenty of machinery around, some of it being actively operated, as it moved and put together all sorts of heavy-duty materials.

Akane ran further in, trying to pick the route with the least people. She moved past a crane, then—_CRACK!_ She felt a shiver like she was in the shadow of Death itself, felt every cell in her body scream and spring into action, and she jumped forward, barely able to balance her landing.

_THUD!_ The sound slammed against their eardrums, it filled the air around them, and it reverberated down to their very cores. The ground shook, and a gust of air blasted them from behind, kicking up a cloud of dirt. They both started coughing on the dirt, as Akane turned them around, to see what just happened. They gasped and went wide-eyed—exactly where they'd been standing not even a moment ago, there lay a metal beam, with the snapped cables from the crane still tangled on it; the ground immediately surrounding the beam looked sickeningly flat.

_No way…_ Akane's mind blanked as she just kept staring at the beam, mouth hanging open. What… just what was going on today? She'd run around through all sorts of places in the city before, and never had she encountered these sorts of disastrous situations!

At the same time, she heard Nagito calling her name near her ear, while some of the workers nearby started walking toward them, asking if they were okay. She snapped out of her mental flatlining, locked onto a side exit further up, and broke into a run again. The construction workers seemed too shocked to try and stop her or even call out, and so she passed them by with ease, sprinting through the open gate on the side. They both took a quick glance behind them, and Nagito said what she'd already saw for herself: "The police just got in through the entrance we took, they're not giving up."

"Dammit…" Akane ran into the nearest set of alleyways, hoping to shake the police off her trail by moving behind buildings. They were close to Hope's Peak, but not nearly enough to be safe—they needed to lose the cops _now _if they wanted a chance to make it through.

Nagito frowned as he looked down at her. He caught a glimpse of her face, still set and determined, and she hadn't complained even once… but even he could tell that she was starting to flag. "Akane, put me down, I can run the rest of the way. I have an idea how to get out of this."

"No… No way!" She was forced again to speak between breaths, which sounded harder and more desperate than ever. "I… I said I'd carry you out! … So I will! I, I can keep going!"

"Akane, please—" _Please _what_? Please listen? Please trust me? _Even in a situation like this, Nagito couldn't bring himself to ask something like that from an Ultimate. He was worthless. Even if he was the type who would've felt okay with lying to her about how much his thoughts mattered, there was no way he could get away with it; his worthlessness was just that obvious. So, he cleared his throat, deciding that repetition might be the most effective: "I have an idea. Why don't we try it?"

Akane cursed under her breath. She could feel her body protest as she ran, telling her to stop and take whatever miracle idea Nagito must've had in mind, because she wasn't going to last long enough otherwise. She normally would've powered through it all anyway, but Nagito was there, and she didn't want to risk him getting caught—she told him she'd get them out of there, so _no matter what_, she'd do it.

She finally slowed to a stop, in yet another dark nameless alley, which smelled of trash and dirty stagnant water. Akane took a brief glance around and tried to focus on any nearby sounds; it seemed like they were in the clear for now.

… And now that she was stopped and not facing imminent danger, she could feel just how desperate her breathing had become—every inhale felt like a giant painful fist in her chest, trying to grab as much air as possible, and it still wasn't enough. Nagito eased off her back, his feet touching down lightly on solid ground. The moment he did so, Akane could feel her muscles fill with floaty relief. With how hard she was pulling in air, and how suddenly light her body felt, Akane thought for a second that she might start drifting up into the sky like a balloon.

Nagito took a few moments of his own to stretch the stiffness out of his legs, getting used to moving on his own feet again, while glancing around to confirm his bearings. Then, with a firm nod, he said, "Akane, we'll start by going that way."

He pointed in the direction he meant, and Akane had to resist the urge to protest—it was the direction opposite from the school, and she couldn't begin to imagine why that was a good idea. But, they were short on time, and Nagito seemed like he knew what he was talking about—she'd just have to trust him. She nodded for him to continue.

"We'll keep going until we get to Fourth"—Akane could envision it, it was two streets away from them—"Then turn left and go down one block. There'll be a butcher shop around there—"

"Oh yeah! I know the place!" She never went inside because she didn't know how to cook the meat, but she always loved peeking in the window when she passed by.

"Good. We'll go in, and then go straight for the back. You ready?"

She gave another quick nod, and without wasting another moment, they both started running again. Even though she felt like she was at her limit, Akane felt a small burst of energy to power herself on—now that she didn't have to carry around Nagito on her back, she could go on just a _little _bit longer!

Nagito was outwardly able to keep up a steady run for that distance, his wavy hair bouncing with every step, the metal links from his wallet chain clinking, and his jacket flying behind him. It didn't take long for his lungs to start feeling like they were burning again, or for his legs to feel heavy, but this time he pushed himself through it—he knew they weren't going far. He couldn't let Akane down.

Akane was the first to reach the shop, a few feet ahead of him. She opened the door to let Nagito in, and then they both made a beeline for the back, completely ignoring the single shopkeeper inside who greeted them. Nagito led them to a particular room back there, and once inside, he told Akane to lock the door while he went further in.

Once she clicked the lock shut, she turned around, getting a look at the room they were in now. It looked like they were in some kind of preparation area, with a large table in the middle, and ample tools around for cutting, measuring, and preparing meat. No one aside from them was inside. On the opposite side of the room, where Nagito was heading, was a large window facing a back alley; to the right was the heavy door of a meat cooler.

After a few long strides, Nagito made it to the window, unhooking the latch.

Akane's brow furrowed in confusion and she asked, "Hey, what're you—"

Nagito turned to her with a finger against his lips, gesturing for her to stay quiet, while he shoved the windows open with his other hand; for a moment, Akane forgot where she was. The blast of air that came from opening the windows kicked up the dark drapes, causing them to frame Nagito perfectly; the light wind ran through his hair, making it sway. His skin and hair glowed warmly, catching the golden sunlight just right. The finger against his lips looked slender, and his gray eyes were so sharp and calculating, and only focused on her—

The doorknob rattled and the door shook in its frame, from the force of the shopkeeper trying to get it open—and the moment died down, just like the brief breeze that Nagito had kicked up. "Open up! I know you're in there!" the shopkeeper shouted, now banging on the door as he continued shaking the knob.

Nagito jerked his head toward the meat cooler, indicating that they should go there, so Akane silently followed along. They opened the door to it as quietly as they could—though the shopkeeper's banging, rattling, and shouting was loud enough to cover any noises they made. The pair stepped inside, and the chill settled into their bones almost immediately. Still, they didn't give themselves a moment to get acclimated—they shut the door behind themselves, before Nagito led them deeper inside.

The cold felt unforgiving against their skin and the light inside was dim, as they made their way around tall stacks of shelves and whole animals hanging from hooks. The freezer was dead quiet inside, too—the moment the door was shut, it blocked out everything, even though the shopkeeper was so noisy.

With that in mind, Akane decided to finally speak up. In a hushed voice, she asked, "Are we gonna hide in here? Why'd you open the window?"

"Just keep going. The shopkeeper is sure to have a key to the other room—we can't stop yet."

Akane gave him an odd look, but followed along nonetheless. They were stuck inside a freezer, weren't they? Where could they keep going to?

She found her answer soon enough: they stopped once they got all the way to the back, to a corner that obviously didn't receive much traffic. Nagito crouched down and reached forward, grabbing onto… a trap door? Akane blinked in shock—how did he know the door was there, she didn't even see it until it was open!

He didn't immediately offer an explanation, however. Instead, he waved Akane to go in first, before climbing down after her and then shutting the door above them. Akane yelped—the moment the door closed, it got completely dark. She couldn't even see her hands in front of her!

Just when she started to worry about the ghost of a dead cow coming to haunt her, she heard a click—and there was light! She turned to see Nagito smiling at her, completely relaxed, and she was reminded again of just how impressive his calmness can be. He held up the lit flashlight he was holding onto and explained, "I always carry one of these on me. You never know when you might need one!"

"Yeah…" She was… definitely rather confused at what was going on. Where were they?

Before she could say anything, Nagito politely stepped around Akane and took point, leading them further on. Even though it was mostly dark inside, Akane could tell that they were walking down some kind of underground tunnel. It felt a little too tight, and smelled musty.

As they walked on, Nagito began to explain: "This tunnel leads straight to Hope's Peak Academy!" Despite the weariness he felt, his love of the school still came out clearly, just from the way he said its name.

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely serious."

Akane stopped walking with a dazed look on her face, giving that news a few moments to sink in. They… they did it? Was it over? "The cops ain't gonna find us down here, are they?"

"We should be safe! Not even the butcher knows about this."

"Safe… we're safe now… it's over." The feeling of being threatened melted away from her mind, replaced with relief and security. And through that steady feeling of safety that settled upon her, she could feel something else start to bubble in her chest—it bubbled up until it shot out as though from a shaken soda can, and suddenly she couldn't contain the absolute glee she felt. "We're safe! We did it!" She was so happy, she couldn't believe it! She wanted to kiss the floor, nuzzle the walls, hug Nagito, _something_ to express it—! She decided on doing the most socially acceptable thing, and threw her arms around the boy, knocking the wind out of him.

Nagito was completely caught off guard, and felt himself panic for a moment. It felt weird—so _weird_—for someone else to decide to shamelessly hug him like this, not to mention that he admired the person hugging him. He felt happy—happy for her—but still, it was so strange and awkward and he _didn't know what to do_, and—and—ah, she was crushing his arms against his sides so tight that it hurt, and it was getting difficult to breathe…

"Awesome! That's awesome!" Akane said. She felt her emotions settle down, and pulled away with a huge grin on her face—"Oh. Uh, Nagito? You okay?"

"Yeah… fine…" he rasped out. He took a few wobbly steps forward and said, "we should keep going."

Akane agreed, and they continued forward, though now Akane had a little spring in her step. After waiting a few minutes for Nagito to catch his breath, she asked, "How'd ya know about this tunnel anyway? If even the police and butcher don't know…"

"Hope's Peak is full of secret rooms and hidden passages," he began, and his smile could be heard in his voice. "Most people don't know about them—not even the teachers or staff. But as for me… Hope's Peak is so amazing, I can't help but learn everything about it that I can! So I've found out about all kinds of things—including about the passage we're in now. Actually, it was built seventeen years ago, by the Ultimate Tunneller…" He trailed off, now caught up in his own thoughts and memories of all the things he learned.

Normally, the thought of a student who loved his school _so much_ that he'd spend his free time learning more about it would sound dreadfully nerdy and boring to Akane. But this time… maybe it was because that knowledge saved the day, but this time, Akane almost felt that it was admirable.

They spent a few more minutes in silence, before another thought occurred to Akane—something else that had been bothering her. "Hey, Nagito. Why'd you open the window earlier? At the butcher's?"

"Ah… I suppose you could call it a little misdirection. Give the butcher the impression that we escaped through the window, so he wouldn't look for us in the freezer. And when he calls the police, they'll start looking for us around there, so that would work out for us too. I thought that might help…"

Akane couldn't fathom why Nagito sounded so shy when he explained that—"Dude, that's really smart!" She could tell he was one of the smart students when she first talked to him, but now, Nagito skyrocketed to, like… the top of her list of smartest people she knew.

"Ha ha… ah… thanks," he said, with a small smile and light blush. At this point, he was so tired—both mentally and physically—he didn't even think to try and deny the compliment.

* * *

The rest of the trip down the tunnel was silent, and then finally, they arrived at the end, which led directly into a dim storage closet for a science lab. Even though they mentally felt light during the trip due to no longer being chased, their bodies felt miserable, and they both wanted nothing more than to just _sit and be still_.

So, when they finally opened the front door to the closet, and the empty lab stretched out before them, they both had the same thought: _this is what heaven must look like_. The late afternoon sunlight filtered in through large windows, casting the chairs, work benches, faucets, and technical equipment in a golden, mellow glow. Nearby, one stool in particular stood out, highlighted by sunbeams; Akane could feel it calling for her.

With one weak burst of energy, Akane strode over to it, collapsing in the seat and resting her head on the table. "Ah, shit!" she said, full of rough relief, as she finally allowed her exhaustion to seep in. In the meantime, Nagito shambled to the other side of the table, quietly taking the seat across from her.

This part of the school was completely empty of people this time of day, and everything was so still and quiet, it would almost seem as though time stopped. The moment stretched on, and the only sound in the room was the ragged breathing of its only two occupants. If it weren't for the soreness she felt all over and her growing hunger, Akane would've almost called it peaceful.

As she continued to recuperate, she craned her neck to look outside. The sky was a clear blue, the greenery was lush, there was no one pursuing them, nothing dangerous about to collapse… that chase couldn't have happened more than an hour ago, but it already felt so distant.

She then slowly turned to look at Nagito, and the sight of him bubbled a short laugh out of her, causing her to perk up, prop herself on her arms, and flash him a wide grin. "You look like shit," she said, as she fully took his appearance in. His previously cloud-like hair had become matted and tangled, and his generally clean white look was now marred by patches of dirt and mud.

He blinked out of his daze—he was looking out the window, chin resting in a hand, when she spoke up—and turned to face her with a smile. "Yes, I know. I really am sorry for having such a disgusting appearance."

"Uh." His response was way too heavy for what was supposed to be a lighthearted jab. "I mean—it's not that big a deal, I just mean… you look like you went through hell."

"Yes, I'd say that's a good way to describe how I look. Repulsive, isn't it? Although…" He glanced over her, and she was too taken aback to say anything then. "You look a little worse for wear yourself. I suppose it was a long day today, wasn't it?"

She didn't have an immediate reply to that. A little worse for wear? A long day today? This guy was the king of understatements! Finally, she huffed, and felt herself straighten up a little. "Calling it a 'long day' don't even cover half of it! I can't believe the shit we went through! Shit breaking, shit falling on us, and all those cops… and we didn't even do anything wrong! It all started just because of that one guy who kinda looked like you!"

"Ah, ha ha… I apologize for the trouble. You very nearly died today, didn't you? That would've been a very despairing situation." His eyes darkened and unfocused, and once again, he started hugging himself, growing hot. "But I must admit, to personally see your talent—to see the way your _hope_ overcame that—I really am—"

"Hang on, back up a second," Akane said, her eyes narrow. Something wasn't right about what he said. "What're you talking about?"

Nagito's eyes grew darker, and seemed to swirl with madness, while he held out his hands for emphasis. "Your hope, Akane! It's truly—"

"No no, before all that. Why're you saying sorry? It's like all this was _your_ fault!"

In an instant, the madness dimmed, and his eyes were focused on her again; his crazed smile fell into something more wry. "Oh, of course—you don't know about my worthless talent, do you?"

"Talent?" It took her a second to put together what he meant—to remember that all of her classmates were supposed to have something they were really good at. "No, I guess I don't. What is it—you're good at causing trouble?"

"You're not far off! I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student."

"Seriously? Luck's a talent?"

"Not at all! … But at the very least, it is what I'm here for."

Akane nodded and gave it a moment of thought. Whether it could be considered a talent or not, if Nagito got admitted into this school for it, then it must mean that his luck is really special, right?

Nagito continued, "Anyway, even though my so-called talent is for good luck, there's no such thing as just good luck on its own. For anything good that happens to me, something just as bad happens as well." He paused, looking pensive. "I suppose everything fell apart today due to the good luck of getting to spend some time with you."

Thoughts started to click together in Akane's mind. "So you're saying… you have crazy bad luck?"

"Yes, that would be fair to say."

"Stuff like earlier happens to you all the time?"

"Exactly. What a worthless existence, isn't it? To think that you got dragged in—"

"_All right!_" A fire blazed in Akane's chest, and she raised her fists, looking suddenly fresh and raring for a fight.

Nagito, on the other hand, appeared to be off-balance. "... Excuse me?"

"We should hang out more! I'll beat up any bad luck you throw at me!" Just thinking about the very idea of it fanned her flames even more and _more_—Akane loved finding tough opponents to fight against, and what could be tougher than a cosmic force like bad luck? It was like getting to battle the very universe itself!

"I'm not—it's not something I can just throw at you, I can't control it—" He couldn't put his thoughts together, he was still reeling from Akane's unusual reaction.

"I know, but it'll just happen if we hang out, right? So let's do it! I'll beat the shit out of your bad luck!"

Nagito fell quiet, and he looked up at Akane with large eyes, open and full of awe—it was a pure look, unlike the madness he held earlier. A light feeling filled his chest, a feeling that he couldn't pin the name of, even when he thought about this moment later—but it felt nice, perhaps a little uplifting. And that feeling quieted the darker parts of his mind.

For that moment, when he looked at Akane, he was looking at a superhero.

"So, how 'bout it?" she asked, snapping him out of his daze.

His cheeks reddened—he realized he was caught staring—and without thinking, he hurried to reply, "All right." He winced internally at how small his voice sounded, so he straightened back up, and forced on a lazy smile. "If that's what you want, then that's fine."

"Yeah, it's on!" A loud rumble sounded then, dampening Akane's vigor—her stomach felt painfully empty. "But now, it's dinner time! See ya around, Nagito!" With a quick wave and a wide grin, she was out, leaving Nagito alone with his thoughts.

Thoughts which filled up his head and got tangled the moment she left. Akane was going to get involved with his bad luck, which meant she was going to die. But she was an Ultimate, so maybe she really could fight back? And it was so lucky that he'd get to watch that fight firsthand! And _wow_, did he really just go on a date with her? And she actually wanted to see him again? But if it meant that she'd die, then Nagito didn't think he'd find a few dates with her worth it. And it wouldn't be right to allow her to walk into the deathtrap of his life, would it? But she wanted to do this. And next time they arranged to meet up—would that really count as another date? She was doing it to encounter his luck, so, what would their relationship be, really? And, and…

His thoughts shouted and darted and collided at lightning speed, without making any conclusions, only confusion. His mental processing was so intense, it kept him fixed in place, until his exhaustion finally became so much, that it physically stopped his mind from thinking anymore. When that happened, he eased himself out of the chair, finally leaving to address his more basic needs of getting cleaned up, getting food, and getting some rest.

Over the rest of the weekend, whenever Nagito tried to think about what happened, and about... whatever it was he had with Akane, his flurried thoughts left him with chaos. Of course, in the meantime, Akane didn't give her date, or her relationship with Nagito any thought at all, more than happy to roll with the punches as they came.

But, all the same...

Come Monday, they were both called to the counselor's office. Even though the actual robber was caught later on in the weekend, apparently Akane and Nagito still made the news, and it didn't make them (or Hope's Peak) look good. They both took a seat in the waiting area—with Akane now thirty thousand yen richer.

It was quiet, and no words needed to be said; they simply exchanged knowing smiles with each other.

Even though they didn't know what would happen, all the same—this was a new beginning for both of them.


End file.
